About book Billions & Billions: Thoughts On Life And Death At The Brink Of The Millennium (1998)
I am a great fan of Carl Sagan and it is with some sadness that I can recommend this, his last book, only partially. It is a collection of nineteen essays, organized into three mostly unrelated parts. Some items are well worth reading—particularly the last—but some not at all.Part 1, "The Power and Beauty of Quantification," is merely a simple echo of his famous book Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980). The first chapter on large numbers, from which the "Billions and Billions" of this book's title is taken, is just too basic. Experienced popular science readers should skip this part entirely. Those interested in cosmology, the vastness of space, and the possibility of multiple universes should look instead to Sagan's own classic Cosmos or for the up-to-the minute (and deep) account, see Max Tegmark's Our Mathematical Universe (2014).Part 2, "What Are Conservatives Conserving," is a series of dated essays covering the relatively new (at the time Sagan was engaged with them in the 1980s and early 1990s) environmental concerns of ozone depletion and global warming. Their outdatedness stems not from any later final solutions, but rather because research has progressed substantially in the last few decades. Another problem is that he links these essays politically to the Carter and Reagan eras, which realistically are too distant for most younger readers. Instead, for an insider's view on global warming politics read Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It (2006). For the science, which despite its over-the-top title is definitive, refer to James Hansen's work from 2009 Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About The Climate Catastrophe And Our Last Chance To Save Humanity. (Hansen is the NASA climate researcher credited for "discovering" global warming.)Happily, in Part 3, "Where Hearts and Minds Collide," Sagan includes more timeless essays covering the politics of abortion, basic morality, a powerful address at the Gettysburg peace memorial rededication, and a useful look back at the accomplishments of the twentieth century. These display Sagan at his best, and are reminiscent of the sustained intellectual wonder that is his best book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995).Sagan closes with one of the most affecting short essays I have ever read, "In the Valley of the Shadow," where he recounts his battles over the disease that killed him after he finished Billions and Billions but before it was published. He displays ferocious optimism in his own future, and also for humanity. If nothing else, read this eight-page essay at your local bookstore or online. It will move you as it has countless readers and reviewers.With great respect, and with an irresistible fantasy, and indeed hope, that he is now in some way out there among the stars, merged with his beloved cosmos, I leave the last word to Carl:I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking....The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there is little good evidence. Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.
სეიგანის უკანასკნელი წიგნი რომელშიც ის ტრადიციას არ ღალატობს და მკითხველს აფრთხილებს იმ საფრთხეებზე რაც ჩვენ დაუდევარ ქმედებებს შეიძლება მოყვეს. ეს არის გამაფრთხილებელი წერილი. რომელიც გვიყვება ოზონის ხვრელზე, გლობალურ დათბობაზე, ბირთვული იარაღის და პოლიტიკის პრობლემებზე, კოლაბორაციის, გამჭრიახობის და პასუხისმგებლობის მნიშვნელობაზე. ჩვენი ბომბების გამანადგურებელი ძალა საუკუნეზე ნაკლებ დროში მილიარდჯერ გაიზარდა, გავხდით კი მილიარდჯერ უფრო ჭკვიანები? საინტერესოა კარლის მიერ 1988 წელს დაწერილი სტატია საბჭოთა კავშირის და ამერიკის შესახებ. ორი სუპერსახელმწიფოს უგუნური პოლიტიკის ანალიზი, დაპყრობაში და სამხედრო ტექნიკაში ჩადებული უამრავი ადამიანის სიცოცხლე, ადამიანური და მატერიალური რესურსი. თუმცა სეიგანის მიზანი კრიტიკა არაა, მას უნდა ამ ორ სახელმწიფოს დაანახოს საერთო მტერი. საერთო პრობლემები და მათი გადაჭრის გზები.ძალიან სევდიანია წიგნის ბოლო ნაწილი სადაც კარლი თავის ავადმყოფობაზე ყვება, რა გამოცდილებას აძლევს სიკვდილ სიცოცხლის კიდესთან მიახლოება. ასევე ენ დრიანის ეპოლოგი კარლის სიკვდილზე.
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After completing "In a Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark", I did not think that I would find anything better. I was wrong. Billions and Billions, although a softer edged, more humanistic book was still a life-changing read. Loaded with wisdom, wonder, and more critique on critical thinking, I found this last effort by Sagan, to be his most heart-warming. The death of Carl Sagan is a huge loss to the human race. His rare combination of scientific rigor, atheism, and spiritual enlightenment had given me a new outlook on God, Humanity, and myself. It is my firm belief that these two books should be required reading for every high school senior. He is a natural teacher and a permanent student. Humility and genius rarely go hand-in-hand. Carl Sagan's message, the theme of these two books, are the most important message about life on our shared planet since The Sermon on the Mount.
—Benjamin Atkinson
بلايين و بلايين كتاب غير عادي، ربما لان كاتبه غير عادي. يأخذك الكتاب في البداية برحلة خفيفة يطلعك خلالها على بعض العلوم و النظريات التي توصل إليها الذكاء البشري عبر الزمن و أيضاً يمر مرور سريع على التقنيات و التطبيقات لهذه العلوم و النظريات. و بما أن الكاتب هو "كارل سيغان" فمن الطبيعي أن تجد كثير من المعلومات عن الفضاء و الفيزياء و عن جمال الكون و عظمته لكن كل هذا موجود في القسم الأول فقط. و لان "كارل سيغان" يمثل العالم (بكسر اللام) المثالي لكثير من العلماء و الهواة الذين يؤمنون بالعلم، فهو لا بد أن يتحدث عن الاستخدام السيء و الجيد للعلوم و التقنيات التي ابتكرها الانسان و خصوصا في القرن العشرين، حيث يبدء في القسم الثاني بالتحدث عن الإستخدم السيء لهذه العلوم و المشاكل التي تواجه البشرية بسببها كإرتفاع درجة حرارة الكوكب و ظهور الثقب في طبقة الاوزون و إستخدم الأسلحة النووية و غيرها من المخاطر التي قد تكون مدمرة لكوكبنا. و كل ذلك كتب بلغة "كارل سيغان" البسيطة. القسم الثالث يتكلم فيه عن العدو المشترك لكل البشرية و عن المجالات التي يجب أن تتعاون بها الجميع لمواجهة الأخطار و عن أن العداوة بين دولتين أو أكثر ليست سوى وهم مؤقت حيث يجب الانتباه إلى العدو المشترك الحقيقي الذي قد يؤدي إلى تدمير الحضارة البشرية نهائيا و قد يؤدي إلى إفناء الجنس البشري بشكل كامل.ضمن الأقسام جميعها تجد "كارل سيغان" يتكلم عن الجوع و الظلم و الأمراض و الأخطار المهددة للبشرية، و تجد أيضا بين السطور ارائه عن الموت و الحياة و ما تعني له، بالاضافة للجزء الأخير من القسم الأخير من الكتاب الذي يتكلم فيه عن تجربته مع المرض و الأمل حتى وفاته حيث تختتم زوجته "أن درويان" الكتاب بكتابة الخاتمة. إنه كتاب رائع...
—Nawar Youssef
Unquestionably one of the best books that I have ever read. Before I read the book, I didn't have much confidence in my ability to grasp scientific concepts that were foreign to me. I can't remember what it was that peaked my interest in reading this book but I am so glad that I did! Carl Sagan's writing is beautiful, eloquent and educational as well as heartbreaking at times. His writing style put me at ease and really drew me in and before I knew it, I wasn't even thinking about how I would never be able to understand it because I'm not a scientist. I finished the book in a day's time and I learned so much from it. "Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium" marked the dawning of a invigorated thirst for knowledge for me and it led me to read books that I might never have read without Carl Sagan's influence. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with a curious nature. Who am I kidding? I would recommend it for everyone who enjoys reading because this book was so well written and captivating.
—Janet Mainville
